BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments Acquires Shares of 7,545 Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,545 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,234,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 4.1 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $155.10 on Monday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $147.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.77. The stock has a market cap of $126.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares in the company, valued at $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.

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